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news
Video: Aggressive driver kicks school run cyclist – but police can’t find driver
Police have been unable to trace an aggressive driver who got out of his vehicle and kicked a cyclist returning home from the school run – despite the incident being caught on film by the victim, who has expressed their frustration at the failure to bring the man to justice.
The shocking incident took place in Woolton, Liverpool in March, with the cyclist subsequently submitting footage to Merseyside Police.
The cyclist was riding a triple tandem, clearly made to take small children, when the driver of a black Range Rover cut across them at a junction.
The motorist stopped a little further up the road, and the cyclist rode over – at which point the driver got out of the vehicle and ran across the road and kicked out.
“He kicked my camera and caught my hand at the same time, I dropped the bike and then the guy in the van came and he scurried back to his car,” the cyclist, who wishes to remain anonymous, told road.cc.
In a tweet posted in late May to their Twitter account, which is now protected, the cyclist said: “Police called today, officer apologised that they had the video but never got a notification from the portal to say so. Not sure if I believe that or not.
“Anyway he asked me what direction I would like to take this incident. Started talking about the guy writing me an apology.”
Asking their followers for advice, they said: “I feel I'm being coerced into a 'non punishment' and not sure if I like the thought of reading a crappy apology letter anyway. What should I do?
They added: “Also the officer said although it was road rage he was a pedestrian at the time... Is that how it works?”
Last week, the cyclist tweeted again to say that police had been unable to establish who the motorist was, with the company that had leased the vehicle not responding to a request to disclose the identity of the driver.
“Merseyside Police have given up looking for this guy despite having his vehicle registration and a very good picture of his face,” they tweeted. “What can I do now if anything?
“Disappointed to hear that the lease company failed to nominate who was driving and after 6 months it is too late to prosecute. Apparently the lease company will face a fine now but I won't hear the result of that.”
They added: “An ongoing consequence of this incident is a genuine fear of riding across this junction. Which is a real pain as its right next to my kids’ school. So we have to ride around and go in the longer way. I doubt the guy thinks much about it at all if ever.”
Reflecting on the police’s handling of the case, the cyclist told road.cc: “My tweets pretty much sum it up, but it was an initial oversight of not watching the video for two months until I contacted them to ask what is happening then a little scurrying of action then they ran the clock out waiting for a sub-leasing company to reply, which they never did.
“They never informed me it was a summary offence,” the cyclist added. “If I’d known this, I would have posted the video months ago.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- brooksby 10 min 42 sec ago
Am I the only person genuinely surprised to read this? I'd assumed that it would be at night - but 10.30 in the morning???
- Veloism 28 min 17 sec ago
They don't deserve any payment, but the rebrand was done before Ashley got his stinky hands on it, so they probably did.
- chrisonabike 30 min 39 sec ago
There's a book that can help you with that! I can't remember if it covers traffic jams on the Via Appia specifically but I'm sure there are some...
- hawkinspeter 52 min 5 sec ago
Totally agree - that's a very nice route for walking along by the river when you're not forced onto Crews Hole Rd.
- brooksby 55 min 31 sec ago
There are a lot of people out there who seem to think exactly that. It's like all those times that the traffic lights change as you are halfway...
- brooksby 2 hours 1 min ago
No, you're not missing anything. I've just re-read the original article and I clearly just presumed they would hand in their licence…
- hawkinspeter 2 hours 12 min ago
That still annoys me about the BBC - iplayer only keeps some programmes available for a short time, so we have to rely on people making copies to...
- nextSibling 3 hours 2 min ago
The point of limited-run models like these isn't to make a profit. It's a marketing exercise to get the brand in the media via filler articles that...
- FionaJJ 3 hours 33 min ago
Seems like a flaw. I wonder who decided that? Surely it's in everyone's interests to come up with an agreement that a portion of the car-park be...
- chrisonabike 3 hours 38 min ago
Don't forget the hour record!...
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49 comments
You can use Google Image Search to search for similar photos, you might get lucky and track down a Facebook profile for the scrote
If only cars were registered in a way that enabled the police to trace and prosecute drivers who committed offences.
Difficult to get a vehicle across the Channel without having its number plate read and recorded multiple times, so would have been easy enough to flag the car, given the will.
I'd be extremely surprised if the bloke was not associated with other infractions.
Don't worry, the poor car being subjected to the Kafkan bureaucratic nightmare that pertains on the continent is more than punishment enough!
I don't care about the mode of transport here - this is a most nasty form of assault!
It cannot not be true that assault can no longer be prosecuted after 6 months if such strong evidence is available - can it?
If he'd only used his car instead of his foot he wouldn't have had to wait so long to be off the hook... "Sorry - nowhere to send a NIP to...". Back after a 14 day holiday!
Serious assault, clear intent to harm
Merseyside Police: Now say sorry and shake hands...
FFS
Horrible to see this, what an 'ankles'!
Incredibly aggressive behaviour from the driver, pretty scary.
Hats off to the van driver for rushing in there, I dread to think what would have happened if his response wasn't as swift.
I like to think the police aren't incompetent but just up to their eyeballs with other stuff. They're understaffed and things slip through the net, but even so, it's not good enough. Totally get that this guy now avoids that junction, which doesn't look too cycle friendly anyway, while the aggressor carries on untroubled by the incident. Surely someone recognises him?
Nope they are incompetent. As for being short staffed, isnt that always the cry from the lazy.
If this had been a cyclist attacking a motorist the police would have been all over it. This says very clearly that the Merseyside police don't care about cyclists. Given the serious lack of competence and their multiple failures, I hope the cyclist has made an official complaint. This was an assault which could have had serious consequences, and it is extremely likely that the odious driver has done it before and will do it again, especially if he realises he's going to get away with it.
I don't know how much the lease company will be fined for refusing to disclose the identity of the driver, but it should be in the order of £10k, enough to make sure they don't do it again, and given the public interest in this crime, a repeat offence should see them closed down.
The Daily Heil would have lapped it up if it had been a cyclist being the aggressor. I do tend to feel that anyone driving a big black 4x4 is very likely to be a c8nt.
This should convince all those that want cyclists to have registration plates what a great argument they have...
That's a clear case of assault and it's left the victim with a lasting fear of being attacked near that junction. I think Merseyside police have done a terrible job with this and should clearly do better.
I agree, it seems Merseyside fuzz have betrayed this individual.
Sadly the ongoing fear of being attacked will extend far beyond a single junction, it will be on the cyclist's mind every time they swing a leg over their bike.
If this had been a cyclist attacking a motorist the police would have been all over it. This says very clearly that the Merseyside police don't care about cyclists.
...the first thing that comes to mind when seeing a human being beaten up in a most appalling way by this monster...!?
I was assaulted by a driver a couple of weeks ago infront of three seperate independent witnesses in their cars who gave details to pass to the police along with license plate. Police couldn't investigate as had no resources. Unless it's a very serious crime, DV or child abuse it's pretty pointless reporting anything it seems.
They'll pursue a hate crime or a racist slur like they're canadian mounties.
Almost like this sort of thing did happen occasionally - indeed had previously been reported here. And has reportedly been experienced by people on this forum. So that's probably why people aren't just spitting out their tea over the newspaper in incomprehension that such a fiend in human form could exist.
I'm happy that the UK is a pretty safe place but "road rage" certainly occurs and there certainly are a proportion of people who quickly resort to violence if vexed.
I would think - especially to an overloaded police force - reports (indeed evidence) of violence and threatening behaviour on the roads would be a great opportunity to do some targetted policing. As has been said the likelihood is this chap is not a "person of good character with an unblemished record" and more may come to light. I don't have any issue with the police using a bit of stop and search on someone displaying this kind of behaviour.
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